Sweet Maple — Restaurant in San Francisco

🔔 Good morning ➡️ I just left "Sweet Maple" due to the female manager, her poor communication skills and racism. I am a young black female and was treated so disgusting. It hurts more due to the manager being an asian female and knowing we are both minorities. Today, I was so excited to take myself on a breakfast date. However, I left the restaurant hungry and upset. Once I walked into the restaurant, the female hostess asked how many would be seated, and I told her it was just me today. She asked if the bar was fine, and I told her "yes" because I noticed the restaurant was full of families. I sat at the bar and noticed I was the only person at the bar. During this time, I was on the phone with my mom.

After a few minutes of looking at the menu, a gentleman brought me a glass cup of water but did not say anything. I could not assume he was my waiter as he did introduce himself to me or state, "Let me know when you are ready to order." Not long after, I noticed two asian women joined me on the other side of the bar. I was patient and continued to look at the menu so I could distract myself. Within this time, I can only assume that a waiter took their order (you will know why soon). As my mom is talking, I check my phone and notice that 15 minutes have gone by and I see another family being seated at a small table near us and guess what, the waiter is taking their order quickly as they sit down.

More time goes by, and guess what I see now. The asian women sitting next to me are served their meals. Finally, I take a deep breath, and I push in my chair before I walk back to the front of the restaurant to the hostess. The hostess sees me approaching her and turns her back to me, and walks out the door to greet someone. Now, she pretends she is fixing the sign by the door as I am still standing by the benches inside the restaurant, and then she walks back into the restaurant. Once she is back in, she rolls her eyes at me and finally just looks at me, and you can tell she is frustrated. I kindly ask her, "Could I change my table? I have noticed that my server has not come to me yet. It does not make sense that the young ladies at the bar have been served, and the family that just came in have ordered." The hostess then states, "I thought you were waiting for someone." To be honest, I could not tell if she was joking or just bumped her head. I let her know that I am eating alone and would like to sit at a table, not at the bar, as I have not ordered yet. She walked me to a small table in the back of the restaurant and handed me a new menu. Now, as I was walking behind her, I quickly noticed that I was the only black person in the restaurant. It's definitely not something that I am not used to experiencing. It's just another day for me. To ensure the waiter I am ready to order, I keep my eyes forward. A few minutes passed, and a waiter walked to his tables, and once he was done speaking with his table, I waved my hand to get his attention. I kindly asked him to get his manager. After a few minutes, the manager walks to me, just to find out that I have seen this lady near the bar, when I was sitting by myself. The first thing I asked the manager was, "Are you all racist?" I have been waiting to place my order, and asians and caucasians have been served. The manager began to stuter and then proceeded to say, "You were on your phone," and then I tried my hardest not to laugh. She did not deny the claim that she was a racist and simply tried to blame me for not being able to order a meal. How in the world would me being on the phone, prevent a waiter (an adult) from asking me, "Are you ready to order?" The manager spoke in a nasty tone and was not trying to resolve the problem. I was so frustrated and explained that I would not be ordering and that I just wanted to go. My mom was on the phone and wanted me to walk back to the manager so she could talk to her, but she just ignored me like I was nothing in front of a crowded restaurant. Thank you for your service today! I wish nothing but the best for the manager...

I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the service and fee policies experienced during my recent visit to Sweet Maple restaurant. The encounter left me deeply disappointed and compelled to address several issues encountered during my dining experience. Firstly, concerning the service attitude, upon arrival, my party and I endured a lengthy half-hour wait outside the restaurant. When it was finally our turn to be seated and we attempted to wait in the designated waiting area (which included a sofa section), we were abruptly instructed by the receptionist to remain standing outside. When I politely inquired if we could wait in the sofa area due to the cold weather outside, our request was rudely denied, with a threat that refusal to comply would result in denial of service. Consequently, we were forced to wait outside despite observing other patrons inside utilizing the sofa area, some of whom appeared to be waiting for takeout or for friends using the restroom. This discriminatory treatment raises concerns of possible racial bias in the restaurant's customer service practices. Furthermore, upon being seated, we were provided with inadequate cutlery, receiving only three sets for a party of four. Despite requesting an additional set from the assigned server, our request was ignored, leaving us no choice but to retrieve the necessary utensils ourselves from the front desk. Additionally, upon leaving the restaurant after our meal, we noticed several Caucasian diners waiting in the sofa area, prompting me to question the receptionist about the double standard in allowing them to wait inside while we were not permitted to do so. Instead of providing a satisfactory explanation, the receptionist responded dismissively, exacerbating our sense of being unfairly treated. Moreover, during the payment process, we were surprised to discover a mandatory 6% SF Employee Benefit Mandate fee. Previous dining experiences at other restaurants allowed for the exclusion of such fees when purchasing health insurance for employees. Therefore, I am seeking clarification on the necessity and legality of this mandatory charge, especially considering that other restaurants typically impose a lower fee (around 3%) and offer the option to opt out at will, rather than enforcing it. Overall, the unpleasant encounters and questionable policies experienced during my visit to Sweet Maple have left me deeply dissatisfied. I urge you to provide a reasonable explanation for the issues raised and to address the concerns outlined to ensure that patrons are not subjected to discriminatory treatment or unreasonable fees when dining at your restaurant.

In response to the manager: I've already documented all the details from the meal. What specific information are you seeking? Have you reviewed the notes I provided? Additionally, the attached photo includes the date, time, and location of my dining experience. Can you clarify what additional details you require? Perhaps it would be more efficient to verify with your staff rather than repeatedly asking me for further...

Update 2020 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 pre-Covid you had to wait in line to get a table. -.5 stars for that... but I think now you electronically sing in... Haven't eaten there in person since the new regulations so I am unsure... We are early birds so line generally moves pretty quick (pre-Covid) and their service is also really quick!

I am updating my review because this is now my favorite brunch spot and have been here multiple times since my first review. (If you read my first review you'll see I was hunting for a similar dish elsewhere, I never found it and that's why I came back to Sweet Maple!!!)

I always get the deep fried french toast (big hip on their menu) it's a chewy/crunchy delight on the outside and soft on the inside. Skip the syrup and opt for the house made raspberry lemonade jam on the table. So freaking good.

I have also tried other food. Breakfast pizza was just okay to me but their pancakes are delicious. My husband has had an omelette there and it was huge and packed full of goodness. If memory serves their sweet potato pancake is also worth it!

I have also taken an order to go during SIP. I live in San Mateo so I was a little concerned the French toast wouldn't hold up. But it did! I also ordered two jars of the house made jam (a bit pricey at 6 bucks a pop but oh so tasty) I actually couldn't finish the French toast so I ended up putting it in the oven on high the next day and had it for breakfast again! Love love love this place. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Food overall was good. I had the Blackstone Benedict . Advertised as having Meyer lemon hollandaise, but tasted like normal hollandaise to me. Also, the millionaires bacon on it? Good flavor but way too tough. my friend had a serving of it it too and hers looked like it wasn't tough so maybe I had a bad batch.

Tried a few bites of my other friends deep.fried french toast! Omg that was amazing and I really regretted not ordering it.

My bloody Mary was ok but and not very strong. Also, the whole table has to agree to bottomless mimosas in order for them to serve it to you. Ever heard of a DD? That was a bummer.

Wait in line to get into the restaurant was so long. But we did have a large group so that could account for some of it, the line did move relatively quickly but still not really my jam to wait out in the cold. While I was waiting I purchased a hot chocolate to go. 5 bucks for a small cup but it kept me was for a short time. :/

Also, it was a bit pricy... 20 bucks for my Benedict and I think the deep friend french toast was similar in cost. I likely won't be back due to the price and lines but I am already on the hunt for a different place that does deep fried french toast. Anyone have any...